Vanilla Yogurt Cheesecake

I recently had an interesting discussion about how many types of cheesecake there are. My friend seemed to feel that there were an almost uncountable number of cheesecake flavors – cookie dough, mocha, raspberry, marble, etc. – that all these were types of cheesecake. I disagreed. While there are lots of different cheesecake recipes, a basic cheesecake with different types of add-ins does not make it a new type of cheesecake. Changing the base ingredients, like the cheese cheese, sour cream, milk and other primary elements, does. For me, different types of cheesecakes give you different textures and consistencies, not just different flavors.

This cheesecake, for instance, is a yogurt cheesecake. It uses some cream cheese, quite a bit of thick, Greek-style yogurt, and uses eggs to bind everything together (making it gluten free). Unlike some cheesecakes that use two or three times as much cream cheese, this one has a slightly lighter texture and tastes a bit less rich, although it is still creamy and delivers a wonderfully familiar cheesecake flavor. It’s definitely less filling than some of its counterparts, and I appreciate the fact that I can eat more than tiny slice in one sitting. You can use low fat or full fat greek yogurt. I’m not sure how nonfat will be, but it might be worth experimenting with!

It’s pretty important to have all your ingredients at room temperature when you’re going to make a cheesecake because cream cheese likes to firm up fast when it gets cold. Keeping everything at room temperature will help to ensure that you have a very smooth finished product. A lump or two won’t effect the flavor, but ideally you’d like the cake to be as smooth as possible. I’d definitely recommend making the cheesecake mixture in a food processor, although an electric mixer is the next best thing.

Prebake a graham cracker base into a 9-inch springform pan (see recipe below); a 9-inch graham cracker pie crust should work fairly well, too. This cheesecake can also be baked without a crust.
Preheat oven to 350F.
In a food processor, blend cream cheese, yogurt, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and salt until mixture is very, very smooth.
Pour into prepared pan and bake for about 50 minutes, until the cake is set and jiggles only slightly when gently tapped.
Cool to room temperature before refrigerating.

Preheat oven to 350F.
Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and stir until well combined. Press into a 9-inch springform pan, pressing the crust slightly up the sides if you don’t wish to have a thick crust on the bottom.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, until set. Cool completely before filling.

This yogurt cheesecake sounds fantastic! I’ve tried a lot of cheesecake varieties, but I’ve never actually tried one with yogurt. I can’t wait to try this out! It looks creamy, smooth, and even somewhat light!! How delightful!

This sounds delicious … is vanilla yogurt (as in the title) the same as Greek yogurt (from the ingredients list)? I don’t recall having seen Greek yogurt in the grocery store (although I haven’t been looking for it) – I’ve definitely seen vanilla yogurt. I want to make sure I get the right thing – cheesecake is a terrible thing to waste, lol!

This tasted amazing! I was in charge of dessert for a family get together, so I wanted to make a rich tasting dessert that wouldn’t weigh everyone down (since everyone goes overboard with my brother’s famous ribs!). I only used 150 grams of sugar (about 3/4 cup) and added 1 whole vanilla bean (this was worth the extra cost as it added a perfect, well-rounded vanilla flavor). My cake finished baking in 37 minutes, but I’ve made this cake before and baking times have always varied. The smooth vanilla taste (definitely from the vanilla bean) reminded me of creme brule, but the texture was like an extra silky and creamy cheesecake…almost a cross between a thick custard and a regular cheesecake. It is thick enough so that it sets up perfectly and slices cleanly. I pre-sliced (for easy serving) the cheesecake before topping with a thin layer of strawberry preserves and lots of fresh strawberries and raspberries. Everyone loved the flavor and texture of this cheesecake! So rich and creamy tasting, but light enough to eat after a big BBQ meal! Thanks for the great recipe!

Hi…
Thank you for sharing such a nice recipe. I would love this item. I am giving a party to my friends this weekend at my farmhouse. I was wondering about some new item to treat my friends with. I will surely try this and let you know.

Thank you! I Am not a big cheesecake fan because it’s so heavy. I made this recipe a few days ago with the thin- mint crust from another bite (using homemade thin mints) and it was wonderful, particularly on day 2.

I just made this recipe, and its awesome!!, I added vanilla beans and 3 TBS of CORNSTARCH and its the same texture as the regular cheesecake.. I also made a strawberry sauce and pour it on the top with whip cream!
DELICIOUS!!!!!!!!!

I made this last night and it was divine. So easy and quick and delicious. Thank you so much. I am blogging about it at SleeplessinSamoa.blogspot.com and have linked back to your site so my readers can find your wonderful recipes firsthand. I hope thats okay.

I made this today and it was FABulous!:) So creamy and yummy! I used Chobani non-fat peach yogurt with reduced-fat cream cheese. I mixed it in a bowl first then transferred it to the blender for smoothness. I think next time I’ll experiment by using non-fat lemon yogurt, fat-free cream cheese, egg beaters and splenda – I’ll let you know how it turns out:)

This cheesecake was delicious and so easy to make! I’ve never made a cheesecake before and wasn’t expecting much from my first try. I made this one because I had a whole 16 oz tub of fat-free vanilla Greek yogurt to use up (I bought it by accident thinking it was the plain one, and I don’t like to just snack on vanilla yogurt). I made it exactly as per the recipe, so it had a little extra vanilla oomph from the flavored yogurt and extract. It came out great, and I didn’t even make a crust for it. No cracks, no drying out, and it was so much lighter and nicer than the usual, dense cheesecake. Perfect for summer because it’s not so heavy! A tip: I placed a cookie sheet with water on the rack below to keep the oven a bit humid and prevent the cheesecake from cracking.